Houston fears terrorist attack

? It’s the oil capital of the country and home to the Bush family. So more than most cities in the country, Houston considers itself a bull’s-eye for terrorists.

Downtown boulevards are lined with the headquarters of gas and oil companies that are believed by many people, especially abroad, to influence U.S. policy toward oil-rich Iraq. Below ground, a labyrinth of steel pipelines carries crude oil and natural gas. Overhead, jets soar above George Bush Intercontinental Airport, named for the president who ordered attacks on Iraq 12 years ago and the father of the president who is leading the new charge.

“When you look at the points of vulnerability, unfortunately Houston has all of them,” Mayor Lee Brown said. “We have the port, the petrochemical plants, the medical center, the airport, Johnson Space Center. We are the energy capital of the world.”

Signs of the perceived threat are evident throughout the city. Private security has been doubled at the Port of Houston, the country’s second-largest hub of foreign tonnage.

Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas has not ordered his deputies to work 12-hour shifts, but they are on “high alert.”

No threats have been leveled against the city, according to the FBI, but agents would be “naive” if they didn’t take into account the city’s link to the Bush family, said Bob Doguim, the bureau’s spokesman in Houston.

“Whoever doesn’t know that daddy Bush lives in Houston lives under a rock,” Doguim said.